


Love you (not)

by withered



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bruce is oblivious, Brunnhilde is amused, Loki is annoyed, M/M, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), not compliant with infinity war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-20 01:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15522834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withered/pseuds/withered
Summary: Loki can admit to having mixed feelings about his brother but experiencing pity for him that wasn’t coloured by disdain was rare. And he didn’t like it.Pining brother, really?Day one of thruce week: The first time





	Love you (not)

Loki can admit to having decidedly mixed emotions about Thor.

Something that he has been assured over the millennia, is completely normal. After all, if you didn’t want to stab your brother one second, and then fight alongside him the moment someone else wants to stab him, are you really siblings?

Besides that, Loki’s borne his share of jealousy towards the golden God of Thunder for as long as it took him to realize that their treatment, second son against firstborn, rankled.

That Thor hadn’t noticed until Loki was a festering wound of anger and passive-aggressiveness didn’t help matters.

Of course, Loki should have known that even then, Thor wasn’t always the most perceptive of gods.

Likely why Heimdall took it upon himself to keep a special eye on the heir of Asgard. Odin knows what kind of further nonsense Thor would’ve gotten himself into otherwise.

Which takes Loki to the moment that led to this contemplation: his mixed feelings about his brother.

While Loki’s had his fair share of admirers for as long as he existed, an oddity in the realm of Asgard withstanding; his charm, wit and good looks were simply a different flavour of magnetism than that which sated the common palate.

Thus, Thor.

Beings can be forgiven for their taste, lack thereof. Loki didn’t quite have the patience to deal with the way female and male alike threw themselves at his brother, hence the sheer amount of times he rolls his eyes and wished for the sweet release of death upon having to witness it.

But that, however, is still not the current point of contention.

Loki’s witnessed very few times with which Thor has genuinely given chase. Loki himself had only ever done it when the situation demanded.

Thor, on the other hand, was different.

And in this, Loki’s eye-rolling reached the point of giving himself migraines.

In the same breath that Thor would wax poetic about the cosmos and string sonnets with the theory of magic and science, he would destroy armies in their name and set skies ablaze with a storm of lightning.

It was as romantic as Thor knew to be, and it was certainly a powerful enough message: his intentions were easily derived, and the acceptance or dismissal of his suit would be given accordingly.

Except when Thor knows it won’t get the desired result, and he tries other ways to express his regard, the outcome is enough to induce the urge to go back to Asgard to face their sister:

 “Banner, perhaps you should get some rest,” Thor’s thunderous voice dipping into a comforting rumble, his tone the same as when he eased the Hulk from the driver’s seat of Banner’s body. Loki glanced over, just in case.

Brunnhilde snickered and then scowled as he kicked her chair in childish retribution.

The Valkyrie had never met a moment she couldn’t escalate, and in that, the bottle of liquor she’d recently emptied was thrown near his head.

Thor didn’t even look up at the crash, his attention completely on the Midgardian scientist who didn’t think anything of the dedicated attention of the god, and waved off, “Would you cut it out, I’m fine – I’m fine! Just let me do this, would you?”

It had been a familiar dance since they left behind Asgard to Hela’s wrath.

The Valkyrie, tender sensibilities severely limited by her own admission, declared that though she didn’t know Banner, the Hulk had been through a lot, simply being there for him would surely be appreciated – especially since keeping the Hulk calm would be the best given that their airship had limited room for throw-downs of Hulk’s calibre.

Unfortunately, Thor could never just be a presence, not when Banner insisted that he needed to be kept busy until they reached Earth, despite how dark the rings around his eyes were.

Thor wasn’t having it. Or at least, not trying to have it.

If Thor’s determination to call Banner a simple Shield-Brother actually rang true, as he insisted they did to anyone who listened, Thor would’ve pushed it no further than Banner’s first refusal at bed rest.

Banner was, for a Midgardian, powerful enough, and as he’d like to remind them, the recipient of a number of doctorates. _“I’m a grown man, I can choose my own bedtime,”_ he had argued earlier, a green tinge slithering up his neck that had Loki retreating out of self-preservation.

Thor, however, was not acting towards Banner as any Shield-Brother would have.

In fact, the number of times he hovered at Banner’s shoulder, nudging plates of food his way and soothing in that “ _sun’s getting real low”_ tone about _maybe getting some rest please_ , suggested otherwise.

By the look on Brunnhilde’s face, she called bullshit on it hours ago.  

“Thor, just – cut it out, I’m fine! I know you’re worried I’m going to Hulk out in here, but I won’t. I’m fine!”

The few Asgardian servants that had come in to attend to the royals in the suite quickly exited upon the flare of green – and Loki had considered joining them – pointedly ignoring the way the Valkyrie’s lips twisted in an amused smirk, much as she backed up out of the room too. Thor, on the other hand, murmured once more, “That’s not why I’m telling you to rest Banner. You look – you look terrible and I’m worried about you.”

That seemed to placate Banner some, and the Midgardian allowed Thor’s firm grip on his shoulder; squeezing in reassurance as he continued, “Rest for a few hours, that’s all I’m asking of you. We’ll be within Earth’s orbit in two weeks – plenty of time for you to do whatever it is you do with your seven Ph.Ds.”

Banner huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, you have a point…thanks, Thor, you’re a good friend.”

Thor tried to smile at that but looked thoroughly constipated in seconds.

Loki can admit to having mixed feelings about his brother but experiencing pity for him that wasn’t coloured by disdain was rare. And he didn’t like it.

_Pining brother, really?_

**Author's Note:**

> I was too chickenshit to actually write the thruce. Forgive me.  
> [Click here if you want to find out more about my work](https://everything-withered.tumblr.com/)


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